D Home ⋅ July-August 2013

LEFT: A closer look at the cabinet designed by Doniphan Moore. RIGHT: Designer Doniphan Moore chose a variety of Minotti pieces for the living room. He custom designed the cabinet under the television. The skull lamp is by Blackman Cruz, and the coffee table is by Hudson Furniture Inc. and available at David Sutherland. photography by Nathan Schroder

A Stylish Uptown Bachelor Pad

Designer Doniphan Moore brings sophistication to a home at the Ashton.

By Laura KostelnyFrom D Home July-August 2013LEFT: A closer look at the cabinet designed by Doniphan Moore. RIGHT: Designer Doniphan Moore chose a variety of Minotti pieces for the living room. He custom designed the cabinet under the television. The skull lamp is by Blackman Cruz, and the coffee table is by Hudson Furniture Inc. and available at David Sutherland. photography by Nathan Schroder

Morgan Cox thought his move into The Ashton was temporary. When he set up house in the upscale apartment high-rise eight years ago, he figured his stay would be short-lived. “I moved in with the expectation that I would buy a house in Dallas,” he says. And Morgan did buy a house—it just wasn’t within the Dallas city limits. “I ended up buying a lake house,” he explains.

The buffet is by Hickory Chair, and the marble lamps are by Gilles Caffier. Caffier also designed the shoes that sit on the floating shelf. “A good friend of mine owned the home furnishings store Haven, and he had a lot of Gilles’ pieces there. I ordered a lot of pieces from Thailand,” Doniphan says.
Photography by Nathan Schroder

It was at that very Cedar Creek lake house that he met Doniphan Moore at a Fourth of July bash he hosted a few years ago. The two became fast friends, and by the fall, Morgan asked Doniphan for some help transforming his bachelor pad into a sophisticated pied-à-terre. “I had things in there from my grandparents—antiques—mixed with Cantoni furniture. It was a hodgepodge of things. It was nice, and it worked well, but it was lacking a certain level of sophistication,” Morgan says.

An easel from David Sutherland showcases a painting from the Mews; the homeowner often has guests over for pre-dinner drinks.
Photography by Nathan Schroder

Doniphan began bringing in things from showrooms such as George Cameron Nash and David Sutherland. “We knew that Morgan wouldn’t be here forever, so we chose pieces that would translate to a future home,” Doniphan says. “There wasn’t a lot we could do architecturally here, so our intention was to build a foundation of beautiful things.”

The designer started with the living room and then moved into the adjoining dining room. And then from there, he set his sights on the master bedroom and the “man cave”—a term that Doniphan hates, by the way. Lighting was one of the most important elements throughout. Doniphan changed it all out, bringing in bubble lights from Scott + Cooner, for example. “I love candlelight and really dim lighting. All the lighting now is really warm,” Morgan says.

LEFT: Doniphan Moore designed the mirror in the dining room, and the blue and white vases were once the designer’s before the homeowner purchased them. “They just look right here,” Doniphan says. The lighting is from Scott + Cooner, and Doniphan painted the Oly chairs and added embossed leather. The tables are from Hickory Chair. RIGHT: Photographs by Laura Resen hang in the living room. “I love the photographs in there. They sort of mirror the view,” Doniphan says.
Photography by Nathan Schroder

Both designer and client agree that they enjoyed the collaborative nature of the process. “Don focused on what I wanted and took it to a higher level,” Morgan says. Doniphan agrees. “I took his personal taste into account. A lot of what I showed him, he sort of immediately loved,” he says. “I feel like if I’m with the right client, one of my favorite things to do is decorate for that person. I like to interpret who they are and who they want to be. We find that beautiful space in between, and that really gives Morgan a setting for the life that he wants to live.”

Homeowner Morgan Cox’s bedroom boasts a Quatrain bed from George Cameron Nash that’s adorned in linens by Leontine. “I love the linens. They bring back that sort of traditional aesthetic,” designer Doniphan Moore says. The artwork and family crest created by Fort Worth artist Helen Altman add to the masculine space.
Photography by Nathan Schroder

To that end, it was important to bring some elements from Morgan’s Johnson City, Tennessee, upbringing into his Uptown apartment. So he hired photographer Tom Raymond to shoot buildings his family has owned for generations in his hometown. “Some of the buildings are retro-looking. Some of them are historic,” Morgan says. “I really wanted some pieces from home.” The photographs now hang above his bed.

Doniphan designed the sectional and ottoman for the man cave and paired them with a Jed Johnson side table from Cory Pope & Associates. The lamp is from Ceylon et Cie.
Photography by Nathan Schroder

Also above the bed is a beautiful crest, which Doniphan collaborated on with Fort Worth artist Helen Altman. “Morgan loves the idea of heritage and family, so we reinterpreted some things and created this crest—a coat of arms. Helen ordered books and did research, and then we handpicked each element,” Doniphan says.

Now Morgan feels like he’s living the best of both worlds—weekends at the lake house and weekdays at the city apartment. “When I’m here, I feel like I’m really living in a city,” he says. “I can entertain in my living room—with great views of the city. People come over for drinks before we walk to dinner.”